Why do I have to register separately for each agency on PlanetBids?

PlanetBids hosts a separate vendor portal for each agency that uses it. There is no single login across all of them. To get bid notifications and submit to a given city, county, or district, you register on that agency's specific PlanetBids portal and select your commodity codes there.

How do I see who won a bid on PlanetBids?

After the bid opening, most agencies post a bid tabulation under the bid's detail page, often labeled as bid results, tabulation, or abstract. It lists every bidder and their bid amount. That public record is how you learn the winning price for that work.

Guide for California Contractors

PlanetBids guide: register, bid, and read the results

Q: Is PlanetBids free for vendors?

Yes. Registering as a vendor and submitting bids on PlanetBids is free. Each agency runs its own PlanetBids portal, so you register separately on each agency's vendor portal you want to bid with.

PlanetBids is the bidding portal a huge share of California cities, counties, and school districts use to post their work. If you bid public contracts in California, you will live in it. Here is how it actually works, from setting up your vendor account to pulling the bid tab that tells you who won.

What PlanetBids is (and the one thing that trips everyone up)

PlanetBids is software that public agencies use to post solicitations, accept electronic bids, and publish results. The catch that confuses every new contractor: each agency runs its own separate PlanetBids portal. There is no master login. The City of San Diego's portal, the County's portal, and a given school district's portal are all different front doors with their own vendor lists.

That means if you want to bid with five agencies, you register five times, once on each agency's PlanetBids vendor portal. It is tedious, and it is why a lot of qualifying work never reaches contractors who would have bid it. They are only registered with one or two agencies.

Step 1: Register as a vendor

Find the agency's bidding page (usually linked from the agency website under Purchasing, Procurement, or Bids), which opens their PlanetBids portal. Then:

Click New Vendor Registration.
Enter your company details, license numbers, and contacts.
Select your commodity codes, the categories of work you do. This is the most important step, because it controls which bids the system emails you about. Pick every code that fits your trade. Too few and you miss work.
Confirm your email so notifications can reach you.

Registration and bidding are free for vendors. PlanetBids makes its money from the agencies, not you.

Step 2: Find open bids

Inside an agency's portal, the Bid Opportunities tab lists what is currently open. Each listing shows the title, the bid number, the category, the due date and time, and a link to the documents. Open the detail page to download the solicitation, the plans, and any addenda.

Watch the addenda. Agencies post addenda that change the scope, the deadline, or the requirements. PlanetBids tracks whether you have acknowledged each one. If you submit without acknowledging an addendum, your bid can be rejected as non-responsive. Check the bid detail page right before you submit.

Step 3: Submit your bid

Many agencies on PlanetBids accept electronic bids directly in the portal. You enter your line-item pricing, upload required documents, and submit before the deadline. The system timestamps your submission and locks at the exact due time. There is no grace period. If the clock says 2:00 PM, a bid that lands at 2:00:30 is late and rejected automatically.

Submit early. Upload your documents, enter your numbers, and confirm with time to spare. Portal slowness at the deadline is the contractor's problem, not the agency's.

Step 4: Read the bid tabulation after the opening

This is the step most contractors never use, and it is the most valuable. After the bid opens, the agency typically posts the results on the bid's detail page, often labeled bid results, tabulation, or abstract. It lists every company that bid and the exact dollar amount each one submitted.

Whether you won or lost, pull it. If you lost, you now know who beat you and by how much. Do that across many bids for the same agency and work type, and you can see the winning price band, the incumbent who keeps winning, and how aggressive you need to be to break in.

We do this at scale. Pulling bid tabs one at a time, agency by agency, is slow. Curbrank assembles the bid tabs, winners, losing bidders, and amounts across California public agencies, so you get the competitive picture without the grind. See bid intelligence or grab a free sample.

Tips that save you bids

Register broadly. Sign up on every agency's portal where your trade qualifies, not just the one you know.
Over-select commodity codes. A code you do not need costs nothing. A code you skipped costs you a bid you never saw.
Keep your profile current. Expired insurance or license info in your vendor profile can knock you out.
Set a calendar reminder for every due date. The portal will not save you from a missed deadline.
Always pull the tab. Win or lose, the result is free intelligence for your next bid.

Common questions

PlanetBids FAQ

Is PlanetBids free for vendors?

Yes. Registering and submitting bids is free. Each agency runs its own portal, so you register separately on each one you want to bid with.

Why do I register separately for each agency?

PlanetBids hosts a separate vendor portal per agency. There is no single login across all of them. Register on each agency's portal and pick your commodity codes there to get notifications.

How do I see who won?

After the opening, the agency posts a bid tabulation on the bid detail page (often called bid results or abstract). It lists every bidder and their amount.

Curbrank

The bid tabs, assembled for you.

We pull California public bid results so you can see who wins, who loses, and at what price, without registering on fifty portals and pulling tabs one by one.

Free bid intel sample Full bidding guide